Circular loom



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B. ARNOLD.

CIRCULAR LooM.

Pafeted Feb. v15, 1887.

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BQARNOLD.

CIRCULAR LOOM.

m3516512 y Patented Feb. 15, 1887.

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B. ARNOLD.

CIRCULAR LOOM.

Patented Feb. 15, 1887.

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No. 357,651. Patented Fb. l5, 1887 I MVX l s fl. IS,

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BENJAMIN-ARNOLD, OF EAST GBEENVICH, RHODEl ISLAND.

ClRCULAR LCOM.

SPECIFICATION forming pari: of Letters Patent No. 357,651, dated'Pebruary 15, 1887.

Application filed November 10, 1884. Serial No. 147,477. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, BENJAMIN ARNOLD, of

East Greenwich, in the county of Kent and lowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a Vpart of this specification.

This invention relates to looms for weaving tubular fabrics and for covering electric cables and like articles. It is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure lshows a horizontal section of the machine, taken at line w fw, Fig. 2. Fi g2 shows a front -elevation of the loom. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the weaving mechanism, taken on line x fr, Fig. 1, a portion of the tubular post being shown in elevation. Fig. 4 is an elevation of one of the shuttles, partly in section. Fig. 5 shows a top view of one of the shuttles, partly in section. Fig. 6 shows atop view, partly in section, of another one of the shuttles. Fig. 7 shows an elevation of a flier, partly in section. Fig. Sis a view, in horizontal section, of a lier, taken on line z2 afin Fig. 7. Fig. 9 shows a horizontal section of a shuttle, taken on a level with the bottom of the bobbin a in Fig. 4. Fig. 10 shows an elevation of the rim O and a part of the tube-Dand fahric; Fig. 11, an enlarged view showing one of the tension-springs used on the warpthreads. B is the table upon which the weaving and take-up mechanism is placed.

Ais a circular plate holding the moving parts, and is supported on legs upon the table B. This plate has circular openings d3 made through it near its outer edge, and has a raised rim j ust outside of these openings,on the inner side of which a groove, c3, Fig. 3, is made to receive the outer edges of the shuttle P. A

like groove is also made on the outer side of the raised blocks e e, to receive the inner edges ofthe shuttles, and in these two grooves the shuttles move around the plate A. vBars s3 are placed radially across the openings d3, to receive the bearings of the fliers @that hold the warpthreads s. These fliers each consist of a base-platep, with bars c c extending up from each end of it, the upper ends of the bars being curved in toward the center of the hier. (See Fig. 7.) Openings 4 are made in the lower ends ofthe bars c c, starting from the center of each bar below and coming out on the outside of the bars a little way up from the plate, and at their upper ends are openings 5, starting from the curves on the outside ofthe bars and coming out at the centers of their upper ends. These openings 4 and 5 form passages for the warp-threads s s. Friction-rolls e are placed on the lower end of the bars of the liiers, to receive the thrust of the ends of the shuttles in changing the positions of the fliers and lessen the friction.

The shuttles P P consist of plates P, shaped as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, which are alike,

except at their front ends, which are sloped away, as at 9, to throw a bar of the flier out on coming in contact therewith, and at 9 to throw the bar in, each alternate one being Shaped as at 9, and the others as at 9. The inner and outer curved sides of these plates P are fitted to slide in the grooves a3 in the raised rim and blocks e e. A vertical spindle, 6, is put in the middle of the shuttle-plate P to hold the bobbin a, on which the lling-thread s is wound. A rod, d, made fastin one end of the shuttle-plate is carried up, so as to form an arch over the spindle 6,and then is brought down to the other end of the shuttle-plate and made fast to it.

A hook, r', is fastened in one portion of the rod d about halfway up to receive the thread of filling as it is drawn from the bobbin a, and from this hook it passes to a hook, r, on a tube, m, held on the other portion of rod d by a screw, a3, that allows the tube to he turned and set fast on the rod, so as to make the thread pass more or less around the tube, and thereby give more or less tension to the thread. From the hook r the thread goes to a hole in the center of the arch over the spindle 6. On the inner curved sides of the shuttle-plates gearteeth 2 are made, which engage in the teeth of the pinions a' a', of which there is one placed midway between each pair of blocks ee. The toothed rack on the side of each shuttle is made long enough to reach from the center of one pinion a t0 a little beyond the center of the next pinion, so that before it is out of gear IOO with one pinion it will have engaged with the next one to insure a continuous motion.

The pinions c c are driven by a central gear-wheel, R, fast on ahollow shaft, K, which extends up through the center of the plate A, and turns on the vertical rod D. This rod is made hollow, to allow the article to be covered to pass through it, and is held fast in the bar d', which is bolted at each end to two sides of the opening in the table B. The hollow shaft K receives motion through the bevel-gears c c2 from the horizontal driving-shaft L, which has one bearing secured to the top'of the table B and the other fast on the under side of the plate A. The hollow rod D has a plate or rim, O, fastened to it near the top. The diameter of this plate O is the saine as that of a circle passing through the centers of the fliers p, and it is placed at such a height that its outer edge shall be just below the opening in the center of the shuttle-arch, (see Fig. 3,) and a little way above the tops of the iiiers.

A circular opening a little larger than the circle of the flier-centers is made through the top of the table B, concentric with the plate A above it. A horizontal circle of thin metal, n, is secured to the under side of the tabletop around the opening, and holes n are rnade in it exactly under the centers of the fliers p, to guide the warpthreads s s.

A creel, J, to hold thc spools ofwarp-thread, is placed under the table B and made fast to the legs on each side of it, and a bar, 7, holding tension -springs 0 o and provided with guide-eyes, is placed j ust above the creel to eolleet and guide the warp-threads s s.

One of the tension-springs ois shown in Fig. l1. The warpthread s passes up from its spool through a guide-eye, i3, and then through an aperture in the spring o, so as to come between the upper part of that spring and the bar 7, by which the spring is held so that the pressure of the spring may produce a friction on the thread, that may be increased by turning in the screw that holds the spring on the bar. Thewarp-thread,afterleavingthcspring o, passes through a guide-eye, i, from thence to the plate above.

Any of the feed or take-up motions coinmonly used on braiding-machines may be used with the mechanism described; but the takeup motion herein shown consists of two upright standards, C, fastened to the top of the table B, one on each side of the plate A, with a bearing on the top of each to hold the horizontal shaft H. A grooved pulley, G, is fastened to the middle of the shaft H, the periphery of the pulley being exactly over the center of the plate A. Apair of bevel-gears, k, convey motion from the upright shaft F to the shaft H, and a worm-gear, f, fast on the lower end of the shaft F, 'receives motion from the worm-wheel g, which is fast on the drivingshaft L. A spring, h, Fig. :4, is made fast to one ofthe upright portions of the rod d on each of the shuttles, with its free end resting in a groove in the lower head of the bobbin a, to prevent it from turning too easily.

The bobbin-spindle 6 has its lower end made flat and inserted between two ears that are attached to the top of the shuttle-plate, so that it will swing on a pin that passes through the ears and the spindle. A projection (see Fig. 9) is made on one side of the lower end vof the spindle, and under this projection the free end of the spring c* passes and holds the spindle upright. The other end of the spring is secured to the inside ofthe toothed iiangc ofthe shuttle. This construction admits ofthe spindle being bent out for the purpose of removing or putting on the bobbins when necessary. A reel, N, is placed under the table on a shaft having bearings in the end frames, to hold or guide the cable that is to be covered.

The operation ofthe mechanism is as follows: The th reads that form the warp of the covering or tubular fabric, being wound on the spools 1', are passed up through the tension-regulating springs o o, and from them to the holes n in the plate 11h-two threads to each hole. From these holes n one thread goes to each rod of the flier above the hole, and after passing through the holes in the lower and upper ends of the Hier-rods c c the threads are carried up over the edge of the plate O to the center of the inachine and made fast to the article, E, which is to be covered, and which is drawnup through the hollow rod D from the reel N below. The strands that form the welt or filling s are wound on the bobbins a and placed on the spindles 6 on the shuttles-one bobbin to each shuttle.

' The strand of each shuttle is carried from the bobbin a to the hook r', from thence to the hook r on the tensioirregulating device, and up through the hole in the top of the arch, over the spindle 6 to the center of the plate O, and made fast to the threads forming the Warp. Motion being given to the drivingshaft L,it is communicated by the bevetgears e e2 to the hollow shaft K, and to the gearwheel B, fastened to the upper end. This gearwheel R drives the pinions a a', the teeth of which engage in the teeth on the sides of the shuttles and cause them to pass around the circle in the raceways a, going in their course between the two vertical portions of each of the rods of the fliers p. As the rear end of each shuttle passes out from between the rods ofa diera pin, a, Fig. 1, near that end of the shuttle, strikes against the dog L', of which there is one for each ilier, pivoted to the rim ofthe plate, and causes the other end of the dog to swing in and push that rod of the flier that was turned out in toward the center, so as to come within the range of the front end of the next shuttle and be pushed still farther in, so as to allow the shuttle to pass between the vertical portion of the rod of the flier. This last operation occurs in the case of Athose shuttles having front ends, as shown at 9, Fig. 6. The other shuttles, having front ends shaped as at 9', Fig. 5, when the flier is turned by the dog, as just described, so that the inner other arm of the iier p is brought in range with their points, push the said arm out from the center of the machine.

The machine may be run without the dogs L, as the twist given to the warp-threads when the shuttles push the arms of the iiiers out or in will throw the iier far enough back to bring its arm in range of the shutt1epoint,so that the flier will be turned by the shuttle, as above described.

The front ends of one-half of the shuttles are sloped outward (see Fig. 5) at 9', and the front ends of the other shuttles are sloped in toward the center of the machine, (see 9, Fig. 6,)` so that each shuttle before entering a flier reverses the position of the bars of that flier from what it was when the preceding shuttle passed through it, by pushing one of the rods of the iiier in or out, as the case may be. Reversing the iiiers, as described, reverses the warp-threads s s, and as the shuttles pass through the iiiers the arches carrying the.

weft-threads s pass in under one warp-thread and outside of the other of each pair, and wind the weft-thread around `the central core, E, alternately over and under the Warp-threads, as in ordinary weaving of cloth.

When it'is desired to make a tubular fabric (like, forinstance, duck hose) for conveying water, the weaving may be done around the upper end of the tube D, as the point at which the weaving can take place may be anywhere from the level ofthe top of the rim 0 (see Fig. l0) to a place some distance above, as in Fig. 2, and the fabric as fast as it is formed drawn offof the tube D in a tubular form by thetake-up motion.

The way above described of reversing the warp -threads by swinging them around in semicircles by the Iiiers p while they are held together in pairs at the holes a in the plate n3, and also at the edge of the plate O above the iiiers, secures an equality of tension for those threads which is not obtained in 'the usual way of moving them directly in and out, as the latter way alternately loosens and tightens them.

The positive nature of the shuttle-moving mechanism, in connection with the support given to the shuttle by having its arch rest against the plate O, which prevents it from being cramped in the raceway, enables me to apply the great tension to the Weft-threads s' s required in Vweaving hose or covering cables without increasing the friction of the shuttles in the' raceways, so as to interfere with the speed of the machine.

By varying the size of the warp-threads, or leaving out some of them, a larger or smaller tube can be made and dierent sizes of cables covered with the same machine. The shuttles may be supported on the inner side entirely by pinions, by putt-ing a gear like those already described in place of each of the blocks e e, and the shuttles may inv this case be shortened.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A series of two or more iiiers swinging on centers, combined 'with Va plate having a circular raceway, a series of two or more shut tles moving in said raceway through the iiiers, and means for moving the shuttles, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The gear-wheel R, pinions a a', and shuttles P, arranged substantially as described, in `combination with the fliers p p, for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination ofthe fliers pp, dogs L, and plate A, lh aving a circular raceway made in it, with a series of two or more shuttles moving in said raceway, and means for mov ing the shuttles, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The plate O, plate A, and plate n3, in conibination with the iiers p p, shuttles vl P, and means for moving the shuttles, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

u BENJ. ARNOLD.

Vitnesses:

JAMEs E. ARNOLD, M. C. ARNOLD. 

